the newly repositioned A-series overlaps with the M-series at the low end of the market with prices starting at Rs. 8,490. This formerly premium sub-brand used to be second only to the Galaxy S and Note lines with prices usually in the Rs. 20,000 to 40,000 range. The newly announced Galaxy A10, Galaxy A30 and Galaxy A50 do strongly resemble the Galaxy M10, Galaxy M20 and Galaxy M30, but at each tier they add a few conveniences and premium features that buyers might consider stepping up to.
The main attraction of the Galaxy A50 is its 6.4-inch Super AMOLED screen. This is the same size and panel type used on the Galaxy A30 and the recently launched Galaxy M30. All three models also have the same scoop-shaped Infinity-U notch. Samsung has done well to try and trim the borders around the screen, and the rounded corners and 91.6 percent screen-to-body ratio are very in keeping with current trends. There is still a noticeable chin, but the look is pretty slick overall for a relatively low-cost phone
One feature that is exclusive to the Galaxy A50 is the in-display fingerprint sensor. Unfortunately it isn't the same ultrasonic sensor that the company has used in the flagship Galaxy S10 and Galaxy S10+ (Review), but that would have been expecting far too much at this price point. It's something that users will love showing off and could be a big selling point in this price segment, but we'll talk about it more later in this review. Samsung has not stated exactly what material the rear of this phone is made of, but it feels like plastic or polycarbonate. The panel curves slightly to meet the metal rim and there are no sharp edges anywhere. There are three colour options – black, white, and blue. A coral pink version shown off at MWC 2019 has not been launched in India, at least not yet. The rear panel of our black review unit was more like a translucent grey with an irredescent quality to it that makes light refract into rainbow patterns. You'll see this especially at the edges of the phone when you move it around under strong light. Unfortunately the surface is very glossy and so it gets completely smudged pretty much the moment you touch it. After using our review unit very carefully with its bundled plastic case for a few days, we still noticed a few tiny little scratches.
The vertically stacked triple camera module in the upper left corner sticks out just a little bit. This is one design touch that has carried over from previous models, most notably the Galaxy A7 (2018) (Review). There's an LED flash right below the cameras, and if you look very closely you'll see a faint Samsung logo and some regulatory text on the rear of the Galaxy A50 as well. The power and volume buttons on the right are reasonably within reach, and there's a USB Type-C port as well as a 3.5mm headphones socket and a speaker grille on the bottom. The dual-SIM tray with its dedicated microSD card slot is on the upper left. Some buyers will be disappointed that there's no room for a notification LED on the front of this phone but the Super AMOLED panel supports an always-on mode so you can still check notifications and alerts at a glance. By default, you have to tap the screen lightly to show this information but you can enable a true always-on mode from within the Settings app. Advertisement As far as comfort goes, the Galaxy A50 is quite easy to use and doesn't feel too heavy or thick at all. It fits nicely in one hand and isn't slippery. Reaching all corners of the screen with one thumb is a bit of a stretch, but it wasn't uncomfortable for us. We think anyone who buys this phone will be happy with how it looks and feels. The Galaxy M10 and M20 were criticised by some of our readers for their bare-bones retail packages, and Samsung seems to have heard them. The slightly more premium Galaxy A50's retail box does include a headset and a plastic slip case in addition to a SIM eject pin, 15W charger, and USB Type-C cable (the latter two in black, interestingly).
